ganga river
India’s sacred Ganges River is the spiritual lifeline that unites all along its banks.
So much more than just a river, the colossal Ganges is a way of life. A lifeline for millions living on its shores, it’s one of the largest rivers on Earth. Born amid Himalayan glaciers, its waters travel 2,525 kilometres (1,569 miles), bringing alive the vast plains of north India, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
Considered holy in Hinduism, the Ganges is worshipped daily, and personified as the goddess Ganga. Legend says that King Bhagiratha persuaded the goddess to travel from heaven to Earth, to wash away and rescue 60,000 long-forgotten trapped spirits. To break her fall, Ganga trickled down the tangles of Shiva's hair to Earth, where she was met by the king, who guided her from the Himalayas, across the plains of India to the ocean.
Today, the fabled riverbanks teem with worshippers, eager to ablute their sins in the mystical waterway and take a small step closer to moksha-breaking free from the eternal cycle of life and death.
From this sacred body springs an array of sprawling cities and rural villages, fiercely individual, yet bound together by the free-flowing vein of spirituality. One of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, Varanasi is a cultural and religious nexus. A magical spot where life and death rub shoulders daily. it attracts a tapestry of people some hoping to wash away their sins or pass away peacefully next to the sacred waterway, others to meditate or cremate loved ones beside it.
Over 100 ghats, stone platforms leading down to the water, line Varanasi’s banks. Each day they come to life as a gathering place for the city’s inhabitants where sadhus adopt the lotus position, morning bathers recline against sun-warmed stone, and boatmen usher visitors aboard wooden vessels.
Come dusk, the Dashashwamedh Ghat transforms into a seven-storey stage for Ganga Aarti, an evocative religious ceremony where a fire offering is made to the goddess Ganga. Crowds gather to watch the highly choreographed ritual every night; some board boats for unobstructed views, while others fill the riverbank, nearby rooftops and balconies. The ceremony begins with a loud blast from a conch shell before bearded pandits, clad in golden robes, begin to move incense burners and flames in time to rhythmic chants.
As the ceremony draws to a close, a priest pours water into Ganges, reciting a final ritual prayer before diya, small flower candles, are lit and set adrift downriver, often atop paper boats. The spectacle is also performed in the holy cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh.
And while some festivities embrace life, others celebrate death. Hindus consider Manikarnika Ghat the most auspicious place to be cremated. The dead are carried on bamboo stretchers through the maze-like old town, past temples and sun-faded yellow and red houses, to the Ganges. Wrapped in coloured cloth, they are bathed in the river one last time, before the cremation pyre is lit.
For those in search of solace, early-morning sunrise boat tours offer much-needed respite from the inimitable frenetic energy. As the morning mist rises to the steady swishing of oars, pink-bottomed monkeys swing from rooftop to rooftop, following close behind.
With the mandarin sun edging up from the east, colour and life return to the riverbanks. Believers carefully lower themselves into the sacred waters, as the familiar sound of Hindu songs permeates the still morning air.
To the north in the foothills of the Himalayas, close to the source of the Ganges lies Rishikesh, a small town thrust into the limelight when The Beatles arrived, seeking enlightenment from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968. Since then, it’s become a spiritual enclave, attracting Transcendental Meditation devotees and yogis alike. Ashrams line the milky-blue river, offering classes and retreats for every Eastern interest.
But Rishikesh is no longer all mantras and contorted appendages. Transformed from the epicentre of 1960s counterculture, today it is the country’s high-octane capital, where adventure seekers are drawn to glacial-pure 3 rapids, forested peaks and lightning-fast ziplines.
A slower pace can be enjoyed on a multi-day cruise, following the natural ebb of flow of life on the river. While most operators stick to the Ganges’ tributaries, Assam Bengal Navigation braves the Ganges proper, thanks to its ships, specially built to navigate the shallow waters.
Cruises, ranging from four to 15 nights, pass through picture-book rural India riverside wattle and daub villages and ramshackle towns rising from sun-baked earth, clear the way for terracotta temples and long-abandoned palaces. Chugging along the coffee-coloured waterway to rarely seen but vibrantly rich regions, daily excursions continue on land. The journey follows the footsteps of history, taking in Mughal mausoleums, Raj monuments and majestic mosques, with particular attention paid to Jaunpur and Chunar Forts, Atala Mosque, the battlefield of Plassey and Lord Cornwallis’ Ghazipur tomb.
In Kolkata, known as The City of Palaces, the old Dutch, French and Danish quarters have each retained a distinctive flavour, but it’s the Missionaries of Charity’s Mother House that still draws the crowds the site of Mother Teresa’s grave, as well as the area where she lived and worked for more than 40 years. Elsewhere, Murshidabad, the 18th-century capital of Bengal, is studded with abandoned mosques, ornamental tombs and crumbling palaces. Not far, Baranagar charms with its hand-carved terracotta temples.
The beating heart of Buddhism, Bodh Gaya is believed to be the place where, 2,600 years ago, Prince Siddhartha achieved enlightenment under a Bodhi tree and became the Buddha. To this day, a descendant of the sacred tree still flourishes, and can be visited at Mahabodhi Temple. In Sasaram lies the Afghan-style tomb of the warrior-cum-emperor Sher Shah Suri, who defeated to the Mughals in 1538. Rising from an artificial lake, the domed sandstone mausoleum is nicknamed the second Taj Mahal.
Back aboard the wooden boat, glimpses of rural India continue, as do rare sightings of Ganges river dolphins, breaking the surface. Completely blind, the rose-hued mammals are among the most endangered on Earth. The river’s many spectacles can be enjoyed with a cup of musky Darjeeling or a strong Assam brew. The mode of travelling is slow, desperately slow, but such is the nature of the beast.